Network-based analysis of virulence factors for uncovering Aeromonas veronii pathogenesis

Abstract

Background Aeromonas veronii is a bacterial pathogen in aquaculture, which produces virulence factors to enable it colonize and evade host immune defense. Given that experimental verification of virulence factors is time-consuming and laborious, few virulence factors have been characterized. Moreover, most studies have only focused on single virulence factors, resulting in biased interpretation of the pathogenesis of A. veronii. Results In this study, a PPI network at genome-wide scale for A. veronii was first constructed followed by prediction and mapping of virulence factors on the network. When topological characteristics were analyzed, the virulence factors had higher degree and betweenness centrality than other proteins in the network. In particular, the virulence factors tended to interact with each other and were enriched in two network modules. One of the modules mainly consisted of histidine kinases, response regulators, diguanylate cyclases and phosphodiesterases, which play important roles in two-component regulatory systems and the synthesis and degradation of cyclic-diGMP. Construction of the interspecies PPI network between A. veronii and its host Oreochromis niloticus revealed that the virulence factors interacted with homologous proteins in the host. Finally, the structures and interacting sites of the virulence factors during interaction with host proteins were predicted. Conclusions The findings here indicate that the virulence factors probably regulate the virulence of A. veronii by involving in signal transduction pathway and manipulate host biological processes by mimicking and binding competitively to host proteins. Our results give more insight into the pathogenesis of A. veronii and provides important information for designing targeted antibacterial drugs.

The Hanks‐like serine/threonine protein kinase YihE is crucial for Aeromonas veronii virulence and adhesion

“…veronii infections has led to increased research on its pathogenic factors (Li et al, 2021). The pathogenic process of A. veronii relies heavily on virulence factors, but research on its virulence-related genes is lacking.…”

Whole-Genome Sequencing and Annotation of Aeromonas veronii Isolates from Channel Catfish

“…The bacterium is frequently isolated from both apparently healthy fish and diseased fish in which A. veronii was recognized as either a primary or secondary pathogen. Multiple types of virulence factors have been identified in A. veronii isolates ( 1 – 5 ). During a study that surveyed farmed catfish with disease symptoms indicative of motile Aeromonas septicemia (MAS) caused by hypervirulent Aeromonas hydrophila (vAh) in Alabama, USA, many isolates of A. veronii were cultured from internal tissues of either diseased or apparently healthy fish ( Table 1 ).…”

Critical roles of VipB protein on virulence and oxidative stress tolerance in Aeromonas veronii

“…Symptoms of infection in mammals including humans are diarrhoea, gastroenteritis, meningitis, and urinary tract infection, among which severe cases also manifest as sepsis (Roberts et al, 2006). In recent years, accumulating case reports of A. veronii infection show that the pathogen's virulence is gradually increasing (Li et al, 2021; Sadique et al, 2021). However, up to now, most of the research on A. veronii has focused on its epidemiological assessment and functional verification of known virulence factors.…”